Cannabis and its active constituents appear to be safe and modestly effective treatments in patients suffering from a variety of chronic pain conditions, including neuropathy (pain due to nerve damage), according to a literature review to be published in The Clinical Journal of Pain.

An investigator from New York University, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, conducted a PubMed search to survey the percentage of positive and negative published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing cannabinoids as treatments for pain. Of the 56 hits generated, 38 published RCTs met inclusion criteria. Of these, “71 percent (27) concluded that cannabinoids had empirically demonstrable and statistically significant pain relieving effects, whereas 29 percent (11) did not.”

Cannabinoids appeared to be most effective in treating hard-to-treat neuropathic pain conditions. “[F]or notoriously difficult to treat conditions such as HIV neuropathy, … cannabinergic pain medicines, particularly inhaled cannabinoid botanicals, are one of the only treatments that have been shown to be safe and effective with the highest levels of evidence,” the review states.

Five to ten percent of the US population is estimated to suffer from neuropathic pain at some point during their lives.

The study concludes, “Overall, based on the existing clinical trials database, cannabinergic pain medicines have been shown to be modestly effective and safe treatments in patients with a variety of chronic pain conditions. … Incorporating cannabinergic medicine topics into pain medicine education seems warranted and continuing clinical research and empiric treatment trials are appropriate.”

A separate paper, published in January in the Harm Reduction Journal, concluded: “Prescribing cannabis in place of opioids for neuropathic pain may reduce the morbidity and mortality rates associated with prescription pain medications and may be an effective harm reduction strategy.”

Full text of the study, “Cannabinergic pain medicine: A concise clinical primer and survey of randomized controlled trial results,” will appear in The Clinical Journal of Pain.

"Look, we understood we couldn't make it illegal to be young or poor or black in the United States, but we could criminalize their common pleasure. We understood that drugs were not the health problem we were making them out to be, but it was such a perfect issue...that we couldn't resist it." - John Ehrlichman, White House counsel to President Nixon on the rationale of the War on Drugs.

"[Nixon] emphasized that you have to face the fact that the whole problem is really the blacks" Haldeman, his Chief of Staff wrote, "The key is to devise a system that recognizes this while not appearing to."

cannabinoids seem to give pain relief in a different way from more conventional 'pain killers'

and because they work in a unusual way, they seem to be good for some types of 'difficult to treat pain'

but, perhaps for the very same reason, cannabis/cannabinoids seem to work very well in some cases, and not at all well in others (e.g. the 29% of studies that didn't find significant pain relief - for whatever the conditions were they looked at... it would be interesting to know)

some folks on here use cannabis for straightforward pain relief, others find it works primarily as a way just to 'take their mind off things' - which is not to diminish the immense value it still has in lifting mood, shifting perspective, improving well-being etc.

"Look, we understood we couldn't make it illegal to be young or poor or black in the United States, but we could criminalize their common pleasure. We understood that drugs were not the health problem we were making them out to be, but it was such a perfect issue...that we couldn't resist it." - John Ehrlichman, White House counsel to President Nixon on the rationale of the War on Drugs.

"[Nixon] emphasized that you have to face the fact that the whole problem is really the blacks" Haldeman, his Chief of Staff wrote, "The key is to devise a system that recognizes this while not appearing to."

cannabinoids seem to give pain relief in a different way from more conventional 'pain killers'

and because they work in a unusual way, they seem to be good for some types of 'difficult to treat pain'

but, perhaps for the very same reason, cannabis/cannabinoids seem to work very well in some cases, and not at all well in others (e.g. the 29% of studies that didn't find significant pain relief - for whatever the conditions were they looked at... it would be interesting to know)

some folks on here use cannabis for straightforward pain relief, others find it works primarily as a way just to 'take their mind off things' - which is not to diminish the immense value it still has in lifting mood, shifting perspective, improving well-being etc.

I think I'm staggering about somewhere between those two groups For me weed only works directly on some forms of pain - I have ms and it's in valuable for a lot of pain associated with that but last cou7ple of days I have a vicious toothache (contacting dentist in morning) and weed's useless for that. I've smoked an insane amount of vapes through the night but unfortunately MY TOOTH STILL HURTS THE TWAT

'the mighty snake on which he sat began to hum fearfully at me as if it wanted to eat or swallow me' Amos Tutuola The Wild Hunter in the Bush of the Ghosts

I think I'm staggering about somewhere between those two groups For me weed only works directly on some forms of pain - I have ms and it's in valuable for a lot of pain associated with that but last cou7ple of days I have a vicious toothache (contacting dentist in morning) and weed's useless for that. I've smoked an insane amount of vapes through the night but unfortunately MY TOOTH STILL HURTS THE TWAT

I find the same thing dude smoking will sort some pain but i also find that eating a strong space yoghurt (about 1.8 grams of good hash) sorted my dental pain out for a few hours so that might be wotrh a try, i did think at one point if i got off the sofa i was gonna whitey though so only do it if you aint got anything that needs doing! I dont know if its the same for others but i definately find that when im in serious pain eating beats smoking hands down.

some folks on here use cannabis for straightforward pain relief, others find it works primarily as a way just to 'take their mind off things' - which is not to diminish the immense value it still has in lifting mood, shifting perspective, improving well-being etc.

That's my experience, in the main. I have neuropathic and other pain symptoms.I find it strange how these reports so often contrast cannabis with opioids. As if it were a case of "one or the other" in pain management. Reality check: taken together, both work better, and require smaller doses. Win-Win. The best thing they could do would be to produce a Cannabis/Morphine cocktail, IMO.

if it takes your mind off an injury it must be helping in a way. altho like i say a migraine or tooth ache or broken leg etc, i could smoke loads of weed and get no releif, take 500mg ibuprofen and the pain subsides. i broke my leg when i was drunk, it didnt really hurt, i just couldnt walk. but the next morning when sober, it cained badly

if it takes your mind off an injury it must be helping in a way. altho like i say a migraine or tooth ache or broken leg etc, i could smoke loads of weed and get no releif, take 500mg ibuprofen and the pain subsides. i broke my leg when i was drunk, it didnt really hurt, i just couldnt walk. but the next morning when sober, it cained badly

OTOH, had you smoked and not drunk, you would have probably not broken your leg

It depends on what you're trying to achieve. Pain relief is cool when it doesn't come with side effects...

if it takes your mind off an injury it must be helping in a way. altho like i say a migraine or tooth ache or broken leg etc, i could smoke loads of weed and get no releif, take 500mg ibuprofen and the pain subsides. i broke my leg when i was drunk, it didnt really hurt, i just couldnt walk. but the next morning when sober, it cained badly

OTOH, had you smoked and not drunk, you would have probably not broken your leg

It depends on what you're trying to achieve. Pain relief is cool when it doesn't come with side effects...

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